So I just recently saw this on the news. Apparently a 20 year old student attending college in Santa Clara, CA took his car for an oil change when he discovered a GPS tracking device and battery pack attached the rear of his vehicle. He and his friends posted pictures of the device online to see if it was real or not. Turns out it was. That was after a dozen FBI agents came to his home demanding the device back.
It seems very strange to target such a young kid but here's the kicker-- the reason it was done is because his father is Egyptian. And he's Arab. Even though his an American citizen, born in the United States he is not safe from suspicion. I think this ties in pretty well the ideas of stereotyping we've been discussing.
Here's the link if you'd like to read more.
WOW! I simply can not believe this! It's amazing how serious stereotyping can be! These predisposed assumptions on this particular boy, is something one would assume taking place on a 40 year old man with a history of terrorist act- - NOT a boy with a family of a certain nationality.
ReplyDeleteWell, not knowing the whole scenario and all the facts I can only err on the side of caution. Invasion of privacy yes but its a GPS device, is it going to ruin his life? Will everyone look at his vehicle knowing he is being watched? Its not exactly a scarlet letter or a yellow star of david. A little over the top yes but just simply trying to make a correlation.
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